The weather sealing fantasy

[Roger Hicks]

How many M8/M9 users have had their cameras written off by rain? Or, indeed, any other camera written off by rain or spray?

No-one I know who actually uses their digi-M (or any other decent camera) in the rain has ever had a long-term problem:just the occasional steamed-up viewfinder. Sure, you don't want to get your M9 soaked, but then again, you take reasonable care that any camera won't get soaked (except Nikonoses and the like).

For most people, 'weather sealing' is a fantasy: shooting in the monsoons, without taking any care of the camera, is a macho fantasy. Take an iota of care, and you don't need to worry. Rain running down the front of your lens will render the pics blurry long before the camera gives up the ghost.

Or am I wrong?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Pablito]

All things being equal, I'll take the one with the weather sealing. I live and work in the field, not in a macho fantasy land. But honestly, I don't even know if my cameras have it or not. I just try and protect them however I can but not at the expense of doing my job.

 

[rover]

You can always test one.

 

[sig]

You are right, without weather sealing using your M9/8 in the monsoon without taking care of the camera is a fantasy and very stupid

 

[wgerrard]

It's not something I consider or think I have a reason to consider. If the weather is bad enough to threaten a camera, I'll be staying indoors anyway.

Lenses fogging up due to the transition from hot, humid summer weather into the AC, and vice versa, can an issue for me. A few years ago, I stepped out of my nice cool air conditioned car into a muggy August afternoon and the nosepiece on my allegedly titanium-framed eyeglasses instantly broke in half.

 

[tlitody]

Can't say I've stood in the pouring rain for extended periods taking photos to find out.

But I have had rain get in a lens and cause grease or whatever there was in there to run onto a lens element.

And I have had sea spray ruin a hasselblad causing jamming and corrosion.

Apart from that I rekon you're safe as the san andreas fault.

My advice would be to look after your equipment in harsh conditions. Pretty dumb not to when you don't need to risk the camera in the first place. Yes I learnt the hard way.

 

[JayGannon]

I regularl leave Nikon D series (D2 ,D3) DSLR's out overnight in hurricane like conditions, never been the worse for it.
You can get hydrophobic glass to go into front of the lens:
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_5lj9qV0CE

As for spray and light rain, anything more sealed than a P&S digicam will be fine in my experience.

 

[former member]

My friend waded into our pool with his M9 and Noctilux to photograph our water fight. His camera got soaked, no problem.

I tend to bring an older "beater" in for such shots. I have never had one quit because of water damage, but I have seen water damaged cameras.

I dropped a Retina Reflex Curtagon 28/4 into a marsh, into 3ft of water. Balancing too many things on a thin boardwalk. I went in after it, fished it out. No water got into it. The Retina mount is overly-complex, overly-engineered, bizarre F-Stop coupling- but it is watertight. One of the few camera systems that you set an F-Stop, change the lens, and the F-stop is retained after the lens change.

 

[Jim-st]

I've been dreaming there might be a hydrophobic filter - wow!! - and I'll take my chances with the rest

 

[emraphoto]

the music in that video left me expecting a slightly more exciting ending.

 

[lynnb]

Most people take sensible precautions in the rain. I think dust is a bigger problem for digital sensor equipped cameras (even non-interchangeable lens models - I speak from experience). Also some zoom lenses have a reputation for being dust pumps.

 

[JayGannon]

I've been dreaming there might be a hydrophobic filter - wow!! - and I'll take my chances with the rest

There is but its 102 mm ring and very awkward to use. A few of them were coated for the motion picture industry.

 

[Jim-st]

There is but its 102 mm ring and very awkward to use. A few of them were coated for the motion picture industry.

Guess I missed my vocation then :bang:

 

[Keith]

There is but its 102 mm ring and very awkward to use. A few of them were coated for the motion picture industry.

There's a product on the market called 'Rainex' ... treat your car windshield or motorcycle helmet visor with it and water runs off exactly as shown in that clip.

No reason why it wouldn't work on a filter I'd imagine!

On cars it's that effective that once your moving at a reasonable speed you can switch your wipers off.

 

[Jim-st]

There's a product on the market called 'Rainex' ... treat your car windshield or motorcycle helmet visor with it and water runs off exactly as shown in that clip.

No reason why it wouldn't work on a filter I'd imagine!

On cars it's that effective that once your moving at a reasonable speed you can switch your wipers off.

Looks like the underwater guys have been there before us, done that, and gone back to using bodily fluids

 

[charjohncarter]

I recall reading something from (early) Canon 5D users that the had problems in Hawaii and another topical climate, no rain just high humidity. But apparently, that problem has been solved. But it makes me wonder if some entry level camera users are have this problem and are not reporting it on RFF.

 

[Nikon Bob]

You are right in that it is a fantasy because the vast majority of camera users really don't go out in monsoon type weather. Those that do, I would think, take reasonable precautions to prevent the ingress of water. Part of those reasonable precautions might be to give priority to a camera with some type of weather sealing over one without. Weather sealing has not been a priority for me as I rarely go out in such weather.

Bob

 

[Avotius]

I recall reading something from (early) Canon 5D users that the had problems in Hawaii and another topical climate, no rain just high humidity. But apparently, that problem has been solved. But it makes me wonder if some entry level camera users are have this problem and are not reporting it on RFF.

I have used an 5D here for a couple years. The humidity here is always high, summer or winter, in fact sometimes in the summer its 90% humid around 40-45C for months at a time. No problems.


As for M8's....the last thread I wrote about it you can see in the photos that one of the old towns I went to one day was pretty wet. All day it rained and drizzled, I did not take and special precaution to cover the camera except to occasionally wipe it off, no problem. When I got back I just let it sit in the dry box for a couple days and that will suck the moisture out nice and neat.

That said I would sleep better at night knowing my cameras and lenses were weather sealed in some way. Especially the Zeiss Planar 50 which seems to suck dust into it.

 

[stupid leica]

I spent 4 months in Iraq last summer, and let me tell you- weather sealing is real, and i don't trust cameras without it (in conditions that would warrant it).


20090618-DSC_3440 by Chris.jpg, on Flickr
This is what my D700 would look like after a light dust storm (almost a weekly occurrence, see below).


20090609-CRL_2709 by Chris.jpg, on Flickr
Me, in light dust storm.

 

[sig]

I have a 4 door car with 5 seats.
That is all I need.
In fact everyone who thinks they need anything else live in a fantasy world.

For some people there is a 'weather sealing fantasy' as in they think they need it but do not, but for many others there is no 'fantasy', they just need it.